Venice and Germany

Hi!
Nina again. We've been having a great time in Germany, and Sara agreed it was the perfect place to spend her birthday (Sara turned 14 today!!!). Sorry we haven't blogged in a while (more internet problems) so I still need to tell you about our astounding time in Venice! OK, enough chitchat. Let's start with Venice.
Instead of training to Venice, we decided to drive in order to save time. When the 2 hour drive was FINALLY over, we were certainly glad to be out of the car! It was just kinda sad that our first view of the glistening canals was in a parking garage, but who am I to complain? Speaking of glistening canals, though, the waterways were drop dead gorgeous!!! Gondolas docked in where a normal city would have parking lots, and motorboats zoomed tourists across the river. We got a gelatto (Italian ice cream) and stared at the breathtaking picture in front of us. Next, we headed over to St. Mark's Square and shopped our way through. "Venice displays the beautiful Murano glass," Mom explained to us as we peered through a window at some unique glass designs. We ate lunch at an authentic pizza restaurant and boy was it delicious! Mom and I ordered anchovies and Dad and Sara ordered pepperoni.
THERE IS NO PIZZA THAT COMPARES. END OF STORY. Anyway, I've spent so long on Venice that I think I'll move on to Germany.
Germany: In Munich the city consists of mainly fat men drinking beer( Ha ha, just kidding.) We relaxed for the first day, after a long car ride and had a nice dinner of meat and cheese at Stefan and Kati's house.  They are wonderful people with the cutest children.  They are friends of my Uncle Robbie, who lives in Munich.  Seeing Uncle Robbie was great.  The next day, we began our day with a tour of  a concentration camp called Dachau. This was the very first concentration camp in Germany. Hitler imprisoned Jews, Poles, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehova's Witnesses and Catholics here. It was so hard to see the bunks where people once had slept. We were actually IN the concentration camp. We even went to the Crematorium. The thought of Hitler makes me want to cry. Who would do such a thing? As we made our way through the camp, I couldn't help feel that I was walking in the footsteps of the prisoners. Prisoners who were human beings, were tortured, abused and ridden of their human dignity -  Prisoners who had died because of their beliefs or political differences. I don't even want to go into the details of what we saw at the camp, some things were too horrible: like the gas chamber. Mom, Sara, and I actually stood in the gassing chamber where hundreds of people died every day. We saw the ovens where humans were cremated. It was awful.  We cried.  We will NEVER forget.  NEVER.
For the rest of the day we were pretty depressed, but we went downtown and toured some of Munich. Munich is a pretty city with many vendors and churches. Germany was very educational.
Now for the pics.

 Ovens in the crematorium

Bunks made to sleep 50. The Nazis crammed 400 in.

No sleep actually took place here

 The gate to the camp.

The Dachau memorial

Dachau's main grounds used for roll call.

 VENICE!!!

 The main canal in Venice

 Beautiful, huh?

 Gondolas lined up like cars

 Lunch- a gigantic pizza! Look at Mr. Puffin in scale!

 

Italy's famous gelatto

Alrighty then, this is the puffin, here to blog about my birthday~!
Well, turning fourteen in Germany was certainly a treat. In fact, it was more than a treat, it was excellence.
For dinner, we had schnitzel. I tried to joke around a bit, you know how I am....
"Holy Schnitzel!" I cried as the plate arrived. The flat hunk-o'-meat was way big. After I finished, it was another "Holy Schnitzel. That was big."
That was pretty much my bday!
-Puffin

Florence

Bonjourno!
This is Nina here to tell you about our fantastical time in Florence. The day started very early because Dad wanted us to be at the train station "right on time!" And if you speak Dad language, you know that "right on time" means early. Anyway, we were outside before the sun had risen. Talk about SLEEP WASTED!!!When the train arrived, we boarded and found 4 seats together. The ride into Florence was pretty, in mountainous terrain, with lots of tunnels.  After an hour, we got off and headed out to see David. The early wake up paid off, as we almost had David to ourselves.  David is one of Michelangelo's most famous works of art. Michelangelo has somehow captured David (from the Bible story, "David and Goliath") just as he is about to slay the giant, Goliath. Once we had seen him, we were all astounded. From the front, David has a look of confidence etched upon his marble face, but as you move to the right, he looks more boyish and slightly unsure of the task to come. David's hands are not to scale with his body, but that is exactly how Michelangelo meant for it to be. He was planning on how David would look perched high above the ground, not eye to eye. After we were done staring at David, we saw a bunch of Michelangelo's unfinished statues. They are called the prisoners, as they look as if they are trying to escape from the marble.  When we were done, we left the museum and started walking around the Duomo, a massive Catholic cathedral with a large dome. Next we walked to the streets of Florence to look at the local leather vendors' goods. I bought a purse and Mom bought a shawl. We had lunch at a local joint and I ordered a local soup. It was a beautiful, sunny day and Florence was AWESOME!!!

Enjoy the pics!

 

When in Rome

Do as the Romans do.

Alright, so I have to write this outside to get internet, and it's night-time, and there are giant mosquitoes, AND THE WHOLE SITUATION IS FREAKING ME OUT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I HAVE SACRIFICED TO WRITE. IN. THE. BLOG.
Well, here I am, sorry I didn't post yesterday. Or...the day before. We had...internet...."issues," which is why I am writing this outside in the dark right now.
Well, anyways.
We were in Sanremo, Italy two days ago. It was just a little "pit stop" so we didn't have to drive all the way from Barcelona to Rome.
Well, guess what we had for dinner in Sanremo? PASTA AND BREAD. SO ITALIAN.
Well, Sanremo was fun and all, but what I realllly wanna write about tonight is Rome.
Anyways, yes, I am in Rome today. We toured all around the place, seeing things such as the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Trevi fountain, and the famous "Basilica of Saint Peter."
I took lotsa pics, but I forgot Mr. Puffin back at the house, so he unfortunately couldn't be with us today.
Ooh! Guess what we had for dinner in Rome??
PIZZA AND PASTA!
SO
ITALIAN
I'M
GONNA
DIE!!!
.
.
.
It was tasty.
We walked a ton on a guided tour today, which was really amusing, considering how many people have British accents here.
NOW FOR THE PICTURES.

 Pizza PIZZAZ

 Nina and I in Vatican City.

 A famous sculpture of some sort.

 A museum. 

Well, that's all folks!

-The PUNffin

Hi!
Nina here, posting about our awesome time in Barcelona! As you already know from yesterday's post, we had a fantastic time at the beach, collecting shells and tanning in the warm and sunny weather. Anyway, enough about yesterday, let's talk about today!
     We started off the day with a very unhealthy (but delicious!) breakfast of croissants and coffee. After an uneventful morning, we clunked down the stairs (Sara and I still half asleep) and started on our way to the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is a colossal Catholic basilica that has been in the progress of being built since 1882. Even after all these years of construction, it's still not finished! One of the most unique things about the Sagrada Familia is that it isn't finished, but there are tentative plans for it to be completed by Gaudi's 100th anniversary- 2026. Gaudi is the mastermind behind the astoundingly beautiful Sagrada Familia, so the huge basilica is actually fun! The front of the church looks like a melting candle or a dripping cake. It was so cool to see Gaudi's imaginative work on something as serious as a church!
     After our fair share of staring, we snacked on skittles in the shade, hangin' and and gazing up  at the wedding-cake exterior of the church. Next, we headed to the nearest metro stop and rode to the giant market called the La Boqueria, which was right off of Las Ramblas. We walked along the narrow spaces in between the hundreds of vendors, eager to buy some of Spain's local food. We finally settled on fried seafood on a stick and a mango guava smoothie. The food was unlike anything I could have ever imagined, and there were shops containing everything from raw squid to various olives. To say the least, the throngs of people coming from every direction were a tad intimidating. Here was the place to be pickpocketed. Here are some pics!



This basilica is still under construction!

Chocolate at the market. Yum!!!

Oink, oink. Mom wanted us to sample this local delicacy but we refused. 

Fresh fruit at La Boqueria market

I bought this cool fan and drank a Fanta!

                  Sara chillaxing in the Spanish sun            Hmmm... Funny sculpture and funny Mom

Mom and I enjoying the siesta

Dad enjoying dinner on the terrace of our apartment

Barcelona at last.

Hello, all! Thanks for your awesome comments on my last post! (As you may have noticed, even though this is MOM'S blog, I seem to be the one posting everything....*rolls eyes* but it's fun! So I don't mind at all!)
We are now in Barcelona. It is a rather large city, located directly on the coast of Spain. There is a wonderful beach, we all learned from experience. We visited that wonderful beach for more than half of our day, and we all got a wonderful tan in the wonderful weather (sorry, practicing paralell construction. I think that's what it's called, right?).
I will post some pictures of the beach after I finish posting, but here's all about the rest of our wonderful day. (Sorry again, I'm in a wonderful mood and need to use that word a lot. It's simply wonderful.)
After we returned from the beach, we rested for awhile. We then headed off on our fantastic quest to find the "best paella in Barcelona." Oh, yes, I completely agree with the internet and guidebook ratings. What we consumed tonight was not of this earth. It was something more, a dish of unfathomable deliciousness.
The paella is impossible to describe, so here are some pictures.

 Nina and I at the beach. We got a wonderful (overused word) tan.

 Sailboats in the sunset. Ooh, alliteration!

FEAST YOUR EYES. THIS IS THE PAELLA.




Well, thanks for tuning in for another bloggin' session. Be sure to catch us tomorrow!
-The Puffin

Granada and Barcelona

This is sad.
I have been working TIRELESSLY on my mom's blog, and I have not recieved a single comment. Seriously, guys? SERIOUSLY?
Ugh. Well, anyway, if anyone decides to actually read this post, we have been through Granada, Spain, and I am currently in Barcelona.
In Grenada, we roamed the city, met family friends, recieved a private tour of a church, and even HANDLED ARTIFACTS FROM THE THIRTEEN THROUGH SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. That was the most amazing experience EVER, so I'll have to tell you about it in my next paragraph.
Our drive from Sevilla to Granada was rather uneventful. All we did was annoy our parents in a cramped car for three hours, which was fun. When we reached Granada, we walked around a little bit and bought supplies to stock up our awesome but cold house.
After we went to the market, we decided to head to a late lunch. The person who had rented the house to us reccomended a small local restaurant. We walked over there (a short walk) along the river, and Mom made the brilliant descision to "go Local." Great idea, Mom. Great idea.
Anyway (sorry for getting off track), we ordered a dish called "choto." Apparently, it's the specailty of Granada.
Turns out that it's chopped up baby goat. The liver was actually fairly tasty. That is, until we figured out what it was. Then, Nina started feeding some to the dogs and cats that were roaming around (and Mom got mad).
After lunch, (shiver) we met our friends in Santa Fe, Granada. During dinner, they kept forcing more and more olive oil onto my plate. "Mas! Mas aciete!" They demanded. I think I almost exploded from all the starch I consumed in that single meal. Seriously. It wouldn't have been a pretty explosion, either. It would have been filled wirth calamari and sausages and bread and potatoes and olive oil.
Boom. Splat.
Like I said, not pretty.
Let's get that image of the explosion out of my head and fast forward two days, to when we visited the Alhambra. It's the most visited tourist deestination in Europe, according to Dad's "Rick Steves" guidebook that he carries around. Ugh.
Well, the palace itself was amazing. Most of it was Moorish, and very, very old. The stone and woodwork was fascinating. How....how did they do that?! And in ancient times, too!
What messed with my head was the nagging fact that women were subjegated in those times. I wish that they weren't.
Well, that was pretty much our stay in Granada. Here are some pics!

 Nina trying to stomach the choto.

 This is it. Check out the fat to meat ratio. It has to be like, three to one.

 The priest let us hold this ancient, solid silver relic, which once belonged to Queen Isabella.

 This is our family in Spain.

 Enjoying the Ahlambra (all but Daddy.)

 This is the cathedral in Santa Fe, Granada.

Nina and I at the Alhambra. 

So, this is it! COMMENT OR DIE.
O_O
-The Puffin

It is spring in Sevilla with hundreds and hundreds of orange trees in bloom.  The oranges are everywhere, but they are very bitter and not tasty. 

Beautiful weather today, sunny and 65 degrees.  We walked around the Barrio Santa Cruz near the Cathedral and Alcazar.  Some streets are so narrow, the buildings so close to one another, that they are called kissing lanes.  We also toured the beautiful Iglesia del Salvador Cathedral.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch outside on the Plaza de Dona Elvira and thouroughly enjoyed the beautiful music from the cantadores.

Sevilla

Two days ago, we arrived in Seville, Spain! We were very excited to arrive here. Last night, we attended the most amazing thing ever. A Flamenco dance. It was rated as the number one Flamenco dance in Seville, with some of the worlds best dancers. It was amazing! I had never experienced anything like it before, and I doubt I will again.
As well as the Flamenco show, we saw the gigantic Seville cathedral which contains the remains of Christopher Columbus. 
Here are some pics!

 An arch at the entrance to the fair of Sevilla.

 A beautiful picture of the Cathedral, taken at night. We climbed to the top of the Giralda bell tower!

 One of the organs in the interior of the cathedral.

 A statue of the Virgin in the plaza de triunfo.

 

Stained glass in the cathedral.

Day two of Spain

Hello, all. Puffin here.
Day two of Spain was both eventful and beautiful. Today, we saw even more works of art by El Greco. Also, we strolled the streets of Spain  and shopped (alliteration!). We also took some more stunning pictures. Here they are!

 This is a replica of the church. The to-scale model is made entirely of mazapan, the famous cookie of Toledo.

 Don't you love how narrow the streets are?

 A beautiful view of Toledo, one of the most amazing places I've seen.

The family, just chillin' in Toledo. (I took this picture.)

Hi, this is Nina.

Today in Toledo was great! The family started off the day with a uneventful breakfast of cereal and headed out the door at about 10:45. We walked along the narrow cobblestone streets, stopping every few feet to admire a particularly beautiful golden plate or a uniquely patterned sword hilt. As we walked and talked, the subject of Park City came up multiple times, and we all admitted that we missed the USA a lot. Mom started chattering about how swords and mazapan are what Toledo is known for, so when we saw a Patissarie, Sara and I agreed that we should go inside and get some mazapan. It was delicious! The strong almond flavor caused my tastebuds to dance happily and the smooth texture of the mazapan begged me to sigh in contentment. Once the mazapan was finished, we continued on our (slow) progress to the town square. A man invited Sara and me into his shop and showed us his unique assortment of silver and gold bracelets. The original price for a particularly beautiful one was 25 Euros but he said for us, he'd lower it down to 15. I bought it readily with the spending money Mom had given me for Toledo. The food here is delicious! The seafood is amazing and the fruit so delicious that I could explode! Anyway, I'll post later with more descriptions. Tomorrow awaits!

-Nina